Therapeutic Potential of Green Synthesized Metallic Nanoparticles Against Staphylococcus aureus

The recent treatment challenges posed by the widespread emergence of pathogenic multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial strains cause huge health problems worldwide. Infections caused by MDR organisms are associated with longer periods of hospitalization, increased mortality, and inflated healthcare costs. Staphylococcus aureus is one of these MDR organisms identified as an urgent threat to human health by the World Health Organization. Infections caused by S. aureus may range from simple cutaneous infestations to life-threatening bacteremia. S. aureus infections easily escalate in severely ill, hospitalized, and or immunocompromised patients with an incapacitated immune system. Also, in HIV-positive patients, S. aureus ranks amongst one of the most common comorbidities where it can further worsen a patient's health condition. At present, anti-staphylococcal therapy is typically reliant on chemotherapeutics that are gaining resistance and pose unfavorable side-effects. Thus, newer drugs are required that can bridge these shortcomings and aid effective control against S. aureus.

In this review, we summarize drug resistance exhibited by S. aureus, lacunae in current anti-staphylococcal therapy and nanoparticles as an alternative therapeutic modality. The focus lies on various green synthesized nanoparticles, their mode of action, and their application as potent antibacterial compounds against S. aureus.

The use of nanoparticles as anti-bacterial drugs has gained momentum in the recent past, and green synthesized nanoparticles, which involve microorganisms and plants or their byproducts for the synthesis of nanoparticles, offer a potent, as well as environment friendly solution in warfare against MDR bacteria.